Bigelow Aerospace

Are inflatable habitat modules like Bigelow Aerospace's BEAM safe? To help minimize the risk, researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and LUNA Innovations Inc are developing ultrasensitive sensors made from carbon nanotubes that can detect impacts by almost invisible small objects.

Bigelow Aerospace has spun off a new commercial space company called Bigelow Space Operations (BSO), which will act as the sales, operations, and customer service provider for the inflatable space stations that Bigelow Aerospace is developing.

Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance have announced plans to launch a Bigelow B330 expandable module atop a ULA Vulcan launch vehicle with the aim of sending it into Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)​ and turning it into a lunar depot by the end of 2022.

​Blasting equipment into space is costly, so reducing weight and size is crucial. Last year, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was deployed to the ISS to test how an inflatable habitat stands up to the harsh environment of space. Now, one year on, NASA has reported its initial findings.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, with the assistance of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, today opened the hatch of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) and entered the experimental habitat module for the first time.

In case you weren't onsite to see the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) inflated aboard the ISS for yourself, NASA has released a handy time-lapse video that shows the module grow to size.

With the sound of popping corn, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) aboard the ISS has successfully been inflated on the second try in three days.

The first attempt to inflate the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) attached to the International Space Station (ISS) ended in failure today.

The International Space Station got a bit bigger today as the first human-rated inflatable structure to fly in space​ – the experimental​ Bigelow Expandable Activity Module – was successfully attached to the Tranquility module over a four-hour period.

When the SpaceX CRS-8 mission heads for the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, it will be carrying the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is intended to test the feasibility of expandable module technology.

More details and photos of NASA's plan to install a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable space habitat on the International Space Station have emerged.

NASA has announced that it has awarded a US$17.8 million contract to Bigelow Aerospace to provide the International Space Station with an inflatable module